The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2020 C E L E B R AT I N G W HAT YO U M A D E P O S S I B L E IN HAWAI‘I AND BEYOND
Mahalo nui loa for partnering with us in Hawai‘i At The Trust for Public Land, community is at the center of everything we do. The coronavirus pandemic, its economic fallout, and the ongoing realities of these new and unprecedented hardships impact all of us. Many of us suddenly have more time at home with our families and in our communities, greeting neighbors from a distance, checking in on one another, trading mangos or avocados, and offering and accepting help when needed. We recognize, now more than ever, how much we need each other. In Hawai‘i, communities come together in times of crisis like nowhere else—and for that I’m always grateful and inspired. We are seeing people turn to their community parks like never before—for fresh air, exercise, meditation, solace, and a much-needed break from the stresses of a quickly changing world. This surge in activity has underscored that closeto-home parks and natural areas are crucial to a community’s quality of life and public health. We’ve also heard the call to diversify our economy, create green jobs, and increase local food production because job and food security are critical to our islands’ recovery and resilience. We are rising to these unprecedented challenges by protecting agricultural lands that grow food to feed our communities and bringing parks and green spaces where they’re needed most. This year, in Hawai‘i, we protected an ancient lo‘i so that lineal descendants and the Hakipu‘u community are forever connected to their ‘āina. We preserved lands along the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail so the Ka‘ū community can easily access their coastline, trails, and cultural sites
while also supporting local food production and perpetuating the region’s paniolo traditions. We announced the launch of our signature Parks for People program in Honolulu with a pilot project at ‘A‘ala Park. We completed seven communitydriven land protection efforts across our islands with an unshakeable belief that ‘A‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia—no task is too big when done together. Nationally, we are thrilled to announce that after 30+ years of advocacy by The Trust for Public Land, the Great American Outdoors Act was signed into law, permanently funding The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which significantly impacts our ability to continue creating parks and protecting land for people across Hawai‘i and the nation. I hope you are inspired by the work described in the following pages. With your help, we will continue protecting land, creating parks, and connecting people to ‘āina all across the country. Mahalo a nui,
Lea Hong Hawai‘i State Director Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow
OUR TEAM ADVOCATING FOR THE LEGACY LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM: Lea Hong, Raeanne Cobb-Adams, Reyna Ramolete Hayashi, Leslie Uptain
Announcing Parks for People Hawai‘i At The Trust for Public Land, we know that great parks and green spaces can transform communities from the ground up: they improve public health, advance economic opportunities and learning outcomes, and connect people to nature and to each other.
and more. But now, sadly, residents often feel unsafe and unwelcome at the park. We know that 53 percent of households within a 10-minute walk of the park are low-income. Like many lower-income communities in Hawai‘i, Downtown–Chinatown suffers from inequitable social, economic, and environmental conditions and health issues related to those inequities.
Yet walk around any American city or community in Hawai‘i, and you’ll see: Not all neighborhoods are created equal. Some communities have vibrant, inviting playgrounds, lush green parks and trails, bustling businesses, and plenty of welcoming public spaces. Others don’t, and we are working to change that.
‘A‘ala Park presents an incredible opportunity to empower residents to improve their health and quality of life, utilizing The Trust for Public Land’s nationally recognized and community-focused Parks for People strategy.
On the continent, The Trust for Public Land is well known for our rich history of partnering with cities and engaging communities in designing, building, and stewarding innovative and awardwinning park projects.
‘A‘A L A PA R K ‘A‘ala Park is a 6.69-acre city-owned park in the heart of an exceptionally dense and underserved community. Built in the early 1900s, for many decades the park was a thriving community hub, a political gathering place, a site for ethnic festivals,
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Now, thanks to the leadership of our Hawai‘i Advisory Board and with the support of local funders like American Savings Bank, HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union, Atherton Family Foundation, Robert Emens Black Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, C&C of Honolulu Grant in Aid program, HEI Charitable Foundation, Island Insurance Foundation, Ward Village Foundation, and Finance Factors Foundation – we are excited to announce the launch of the Parks for People Hawai‘i program with a pilot project at ‘A‘ala Park!
This three-year pilot will allow us to engage in a community-led participatory visioning and planning process where surrounding residents, community groups, and businesses come together to articulate a vision for the park that honors its past and looks toward a shared future. With this foundation, we plan to create a model to scale our work for other park improvement and publicprivate partnership park projects in Hawai‘i.
‘A‘ala Park
Protecting our treasured ‘āina C E L E B R AT I N G A R E C O R D N U M B E R O F L A N D P R O T E C T I O N S We expanded Honolulu’s Wailupe Nature Preserve—nine acres in the back of Wailupe Valley in ‘Āina Haina, O‘ahu. When the property was slated for residential development, the community rallied to preserve the natural land for public access into Wailupe Valley. Residents and agency staff can now use Wailupe Trail daily for hiking, conducting traditional Hawaiian cultural practices, and managing ‘elepaio critical habitat.
The Trust for Public Land works in partnership with communities across Hawai‘i to conserve the lands they love. We work with landowners to protect their land for public benefit, identify funders who believe in our land-for-people mission, and partner with communities to bring their vision for a property’s future to life. Supporters like you make this transformational work possible. Thank you for believing in the power of place and our communities’ vital role in protecting, restoring, and uplifting our treasured ‘āina.
We partnered with Kuahiwi Ranch to procure an agricultural conservation easement to protect Kāwala, 795 acres in Ka‘ū, Hawai‘i Island. The agreement will preserve numerous cultural sites and ensure the property is used for agriculture in perpetuity. The Ala Kahakai Trail Association holds this easement to safeguard cultural sites and perpetuate Ka‘ū’s paniolo traditions and local grass-fed beef production.
Over the last year, your support helped to protect seven special places across our island home:
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We purchased the 3,443-acre Kamehamenui property on the northern slopes of Haleakalā in Kula, Maui, and conveyed it to the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DLNR). DLNR will plant a sustainable forest of native hardwoods and open the formerly private property to the public for exploring, hiking, and mountain biking. Reforestation will recharge the water aquifer to ensure clean drinking water for the future and to protect endangered species. TPL BOARD
Wailupe Nature Preserve ALEC FREEMAN
Kamehamenui
Kāwala
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Hakipu‘u Lo‘i Kalo
Waimea Native Forest TPL STAFF
ALA KAHAKAI TRAIL ASSOCIATION
waikapuna
After eight years of partnering with the community, we purchased Hakipu‘u Lo‘i Kalo, 1.5 acres in Hakipu‘u, O‘ahu, which has been in continuous lo‘i kalo production for hundreds of years. The land is now owned by nonprofit Ho‘āla ‘Āina Kūpono, with a conservation easement coheld by the C&C of Honolulu and Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. The land will remain a peaceful refuge for Hakipu‘u residents and visitors, and provide educational opportunities for school children and the public to continue the lo‘i kalo tradition into the future. Waikapuna—the familial summer retreat of revered scholar Mary Kawena Pukui—helped inspire the 20th century Hawaiian cultural renaissance. This 2,013-acre landscape in Ka‘ū, Hawai‘i Island, is now protected forever. Ala Kahakai Trail Association now owns the land. They will partner with the local community to honor the many historic and cultural sites on the property, allow existing grass-fed cattle ranching to continue, and contribute to Hawai‘i’s food security.
MA’O Palikea Expansion
We protected over 3,700 acres on O‘ahu’s North Shore to create the Waimea Native Forest. We conveyed the land to DLNR to protect native forest and a crucial watershed. With The Trust for Public Land’s past and current efforts in the lower Waimea ahupua‘a—Waimea Valley in 2006 and Pu‘ukua in 2019—nearly the entire watershed, from summit to sea, has been protected, resulting in protected native plant and bird species, and secured drinking water supply. We’ve partnered with MA‘O Organic Farms once again to add the 21-acre MA‘O Palikea Expansion to their farm in Lualualei, O‘ahu. MA‘O is a movement to develop a comprehensive and living local food system—educating youth, fighting hunger, improving health and nutrition, and growing the organic agriculture industry. Now, organic fruits and vegetables are growing on the land for the people of Hawai‘i. The expansion also allows MA‘O to enlarge its education internship opportunities.
Celebrating the Great American Outdoors Act
The Senate introduced the Great American Outdoors Act in early March with two main goals: to fix the longstanding $9.5 billion maintenance backlog in our national parks, forests, and other public lands; and to guarantee full and dedicated funding—$900 million every single year—for LWCF. The bill passed the Senate in June, passed the House of Representatives in July, and on August 4 the bill was signed into law.
LW C F I N H A W A I ‘ I The Trust for Public Land has leveraged LWCF funding for many of our past land protection efforts, including: • Haleakalā National Park at Ka‘āpahu, Maui • Lands surrounding Lumaha‘i Beach, Kaua‘i • Mōkōlea Point and Crater Hill expansions of Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kaua‘i • Waimea Native Forest, O‘ahu • Helemano Wilderness Area, O‘ahu
Thanks to decades of tireless advocacy from a diverse coalition of park lovers across the country and Hawai‘i’s Congressional delegation, we’re celebrating an incredible legislative victory: permanent, full, and dedicated funding for LWCF. We recently sought additional LWCF funding that will allow us to complete the protection of Mapulehu on Moloka‘i, and our Hawai‘i Koa Forest and Pōhue Bay conservation projects on Hawai‘i Island. TPL STAFF
At the federal, state, and local levels, The Trust for Public Land advocates for the importance of parks and open space and the need to fund them. Securing permanent, full, and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been the top legislative priority for The Trust for Public Land for over 30 years. A lot goes into making a law this big happen—and our Federal Affairs team in D.C. has been at the front leading the charge. This longstanding federal program directs fees from oil and gas drilling to investments in parks and open space. It costs taxpayers nothing—but benefits everyone.
hawai‘i koa forest
• Moanalua Valley, O‘ahu • Honouliuli Forest Reserve, O‘ahu • Kāwā, Hawai‘i Island • Kauleolī addition to Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Hawai‘i Island • Ki‘ilae Expansion of Pu‘uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historic Park, Hawai‘i Island • Wao Kele O Puna, Hawai‘i Island • Kalapana Expansion of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai‘i Island
Looking ahead I N T H E Y E A R A H E A D, Y O U R PA R T N E R S H I P W I L L S U P P O R T… PA R K S F O R P E O P L E H A W A I ‘ I
A L O H A ‘Ā I N A
Creating close-to-home access to quality parks: • Support our work at ‘A‘ala Park as we engage the surrounding community and transform a park into a safe, welcoming public space for over 18,000 residents who live nearby. This work will form the basis of a model to scale other park improvements and public-private partnerships.
Protecting Hawai‘i’s culturally significant lands: • Advance our partnership with the Moloka‘i Land Trust to purchase and protect Mapulehu, a 1,918-acre property located in East Moloka‘i. Six intermittent streams wind from the 3,488 foot summit through native habitat and mixed forest to lower Mapulehu Valley. The property is home to ‘Ili‘ili‘ōpae Heiau, the second largest heiau in Hawai‘i.
S U S TA I N A B L E H A W A I ‘ I
• Assist our work with the Ala Kahakai Trail Association and the Ka‘ū community to purchase and protect Kiolaka‘a. The 1,836-acre property includes an intact dryland native forest and portions of the ancient Kamakalepo settlement and Lua Nunu cave system. Built during the wars with Kamehameha, this area features the most extensive refuge cave on Hawai‘i Island. At over a kilometer long, it includes a fortress with an elevated defensive wall which provided protection from invading forces.
Securing Hawai‘i’s food, forests, and water: • Advance our partnership with the Kāne‘ohe community, local farming nonprofits, and the State of Hawai‘i to purchase and protect the approximately 1,000-acre Kāne‘ohe Pali to Lo‘i. The land includes freshwater springs, at least 11 streams, a native forest, priority watershed, critical habitat for native plants and animals, heiau, burials, and geological formations famed in Hawaiian mo‘olelo, mele, and oli. • Protect community access to the coastline and preserve over 400 cultural sites, while continuing ranching at Kaunāmano, a 1,363-acre coastal property in Ka‘ū where grass-fed beef is produced for local consumers. RIKKI COOKE
• Purchase and protect the 13,130-acre Hawai‘i Koa Forest north of Hilo in partnership with DLNR. This property includes the largest stand of old growth koa on privately owned land in the state and is important watershed land, with eight perennial streams and habitat for endangered native birds, bats, and plant species.
• Accelerate our work along the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail in Ka‘ū as we permanently protect 23,115 acres of pristine coastal lands.
Mapulehu
Hawai‘i Advisory Board We are so grateful for our volunteer leaders who advise, guide, and inspire our work across Hawai‘i Nei! Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli, Moloka‘i General Hospital Stanford Carr, Stanford Carr Development F. Mahina Paishon-Duarte, The Waiwai Collective Kā‘eo Duarte, Kamehameha Schools Bob Hines, Retired Steve Kelly, James Campbell Company Mark Linscott, Kaiser Permanente of Hawai‘i Earlynne Maile, Hawaiian Electric Kurt Matsumoto, Pūlama Lāna‘i Catherine Ngo, Central Pacific Bank
Edmund C. Olson, Edmund C. Olson Trust Blake Oshiro, Capitol Consultants of Hawai‘i Jeff Overton, G70 Gregory Pietsch, Pietsch Properties Brad Punu, Honolulu Seawater Kirstin Punu, AES Distributed Energy Race Randle, The Howard Hughes Corporation Tom Reeve, Conservationist Gregg Takara, The Island Legacy Group at Morgan Stanley
SEAN DAVEY
Lana kākou i ka hau’oli o ha’i We rise by uplifting others
Mahalo
for supporting The Trust for Public Land as we work to protect land and create parks for people in Hawai‘i and beyond. We couldn’t do it without you.
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COVER: TOP RIGHT, BRIANNE RANDLE; ALL OTHER PHOTOS, TPL STAFF.
Lea Hong Hawai‘i State Director Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow 808.524.8563 | lea.hong@tpl.org Leslie Uptain Director of Philanthropy 808.524.8694 | leslie.uptain@tpl.org 1003 Bishop Street, Suite 740 Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813